The portable storage market has grown tremendously over the past few months. That's good news for those who need to carry around a lot of data but don't like lugging a notebook computer to do it.
The portable storage trend got underway last year with the proliferation of USB flash memory devices -- small, cigarette-lighter sized nonvolatile memory sticks that allowed you to store as much as a gigabyte or two of data and transfer it easily to any computer that had a USB port.
But those devices, dubbed memory sticks or USB keys, were more commonly found in the 256 MB or 512 MB capacities -- better than a floppy drive, without a doubt, but still insufficient for many people. After all, a CD's worth of MP3 files recorded at decent quality today requires more than 256 MB. The larger-capacity, 1 GB memory sticks were too expensive to make them worth the cost. So the search continued.
Recently, technology manufacturers have trotted onto the market a host of tiny storage devices that sport miniature hard drives with multiple-gigabyte capacities. These tiny data guzzlers generally cost less than USB sticks and still, in many cases, fit in the palm of your hand or slip nicely into a shirt pocket.
The hard disk maker Seagate (www.seagate.com) wants to push mass storage into the pockets of the many with its Pocket Hard Drive series of palm-sized, oval storage units. Pocket Hard Drives, now available widely at the retail level, come in sizes of 2.5 and 5 GB, offering significantly more storage than the largest USB stick and costing about half as much, at around US$160 for the 2.5 GB version.
There's little doubt that Seagate is targeting the dissatisfied users of USB sticks. The Pocket Hard Drives boast durability, housed as they are in a round shell that absorbs shock -- the primary culprit in portable hard drive failures.
Portability does not take a backseat to convenience with the latest-generation of portable storage units. The Pocket Hard Drive does away with power cords altogether, getting its power directly from the USB port into which it plugs. There's not even a USB cable to worry about: it's attached to the unit, retractable when not in use.
Also, the Audavi Corporation (www.hardtape.com) has a somewhat novel approach to getting an even larger amount of data in your pocket with its HardTape series of PDA-sized devices. The HardTape may not have the most appealing name to those who remember the teeth-grinding slowness of tape backup systems, but the "tape" part of the product's name is an attempt to communicate the product's ruggedness, not its storage medium. The HardTape is actually a miniature hard drive housed to withstand a major impact.
In the HardTape's case, the blow can be a fall to concrete from 2 feet up. That's still not as rugged as some flash memory-based devices, but those don't offer the capacities that the HardTape does -- up to 80 GB, enough to back up most people's entire computer.
The HardTape comes with its own built-in software for backing up and encrypting data. It weighs a mere 8 ounces, is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows-based systems, and can connect to a computer using a FireWire, USB, or a PCMCIA connection. Currently, HardTapes are fairly difficult to find, but you can order directly from Audavi's Yahoo-based store (www.store.yahoo.com/hardtape).
I/O Magic (www.iomagic.com) has also upped the ante in personal portable storage with its new GigaBank series of portable storage units. Ranging in size from 2.2 GB to 100 GB, these mini drives, like HardTape, offer a "single-touch" data backup capability for those whose primary purpose is to back up a notebook or desktop PC with one of these units.
The 2.2 GB and 4 GB versions of the GigaBank are credit-card sized, while the larger 40, 60, 80, and 100 GB versions are still tiny enough to fit comfortably in your pocket.
Each connects to the PC via a USB port, which also powers the drives, meaning there are no additional power cables to fuss with.
Even the USB cable is "built in" to the drive, sticking out just far enough to make it easy to connect. GigaBank drive prices start at under US$100. Until now, hard drive makers have lacked creativity in devising products that make the ample storage capacities of their tiniest hard drives accessible.
Finally, that's beginning to change, as these product demonstrate, making the lives of the data-dependent just a little bit easier.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
RSS